Autumn Term 1918

It is with an unspeakable feeling of thankfulness that I am able to record in our School Magazine that on Sunday last the nation gave thanks to God for the blessing of Peace. Many families and individuals will, no doubt, treasure the newspapers which described what took place in our Cathedrals and Churches, and many will also treasure the account of the Peace Celebrations which, by order of the King, will take place on the National Holiday on Saturday next. Here I will only say that the news of the great event reached the School on the evening of Saturday June 28th. The School “Houses” on the hill all gathered on the asphalt outside the Mistresses’ room, and I told them that Peace had come, and that we must all try to do our part in making it a true and worthy Peace. We then said the General Thanks giving, with a special thanks giving, and sang the National Anthem.

On July 28th there is to be a children’s Historical Pageant, written by Mr. Stevens, the Curator of the Museum an account of which will be in the next Magazine.

And now I must speak of a few School matters and events of special interest. Marcia Matthews, Head Mistress of St. Mary’s School, Calne, and once Head Girl of the Godolphin School, brought a party of Mistresses and girls from her School to visit Salisbury and the Godolphin School on Thursday last. It was a very great pleasuree to us to have them, and we hope that the friendly display of gymnastic “free exer­cises” may develop into a competition between the Schools. If it does, the excellence of the Calne drilling will make the contest very interesting, St. Mary’s School, Calne, has added to its buildings and playing fields, and, in spite of this, it is full to bursting, and will have to build again.

And now I must turn to the changes and losses which are coming to the School at the end of the term. Miss Westlake, who has been here for 23 years, and for the last year has been House Mistress of Fawcett, is leaving us, and will be so greatly missed. I can fancy so many of those who read this will say “We shall hardly know the School without Miss Westlake,” and they will remember with so much gratitude the many happy hours spent in the Gymnasium and ]In the play-grounds. She, too, I know, is very sorry to say goodbye to the School where she has lived and worked so long, but this regret is quite compatible with being ready and desirous to take up fresh work in the near future, and we all give her our very warmest and best wishes, as well as our gratitude for all her work in the School and Fawcett House.

Two other Mistresses are leaving us: Miss Mitchell, who has been here for seven years and two terms, and has done such good work as Geography Mistress, and as teacher of Household Accounts, and who has been such a good friend to the succession of girls in her Form. She, too, is going to take up other work, and she has our very best wishes and gratitude.

Miss Alcock, too, is leaving us after two years, in which she has interested so many girls in good literature. She has been Form Mistress, first of Form II. and then of Form Lower VB. Besides these things, she has so often aiven us so much pleasure through her singing. She, too, takes with her the best wishes of the School and especially of her own pupils and the nierabers of her own Forms.

WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 18th Miss Douglas gave us a very hearty welcome, and said that she knew that all the new Mistresses who had come to help us were our friends already. They were Miss Dewey, Games Mistress; Miss Lawrence, who has come to help Miss Westlake at Fawcett House, and to teach in the School; and Miss Jeffries, who is going to be Second House Mistress in Hamilton House. Miss Wallich has come back for this tern, and Miss Seal, our late Head Girl, has come back to help Miss Edith at Nelson House. Miss Oliver has been obliged to leave us during, the holidays to do Government work, and the following girls have also left:­

Sarum: C. la Trobe. AL Luckham, S. Tuckes, H. B. and, V Gervers.

Fawcett: M. Burnett, B. Collins.

Hamilton: M. Thursby.
M. Cochrane has not left after all.

Miss Doualas then read the Senior Cambridge Results, and told us that N. Maude and P. Lee had passed the London Matriculation.

She also told us that, through the unselfishness of some members of Sarum House who carried on the mowing during the holidays, we should be able to begin games at once.

SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 28th Commemoration Day.

All who had been Confirmed went to Holy Communion at St. Martin’s at 7.45. The School Service was at 9.45. The exhibition of the work ready for the sale was open all the afternoon and in the evening. Miss Ward and -Miss Alcock gave us a most delightful concert, before which the prizes were given. They were small medals, the size of a sixpenny-bit, but thicker, and engraved on one side with the fleur-de-lys. The collec­tion at prayers, which amounted to £4 0s. 10d., was given to the Life boat Fund.

MONDAY, OCTOBER 14th After prayers, Miss Douglas told us that Miss Spencer and Mr. Bayley were engaged to be married, and that Mademoiselle Marchau was going to marry Captain Kneebone as soon as he got leave. We conveyed our good wishes to them in the form of a hearty clap.

FRIDAY, OCTOBER 18th At 8 p.m. Mr. Rowntree gave us a most interesting lecture, illustrated by lantern slides; on the Childhood of Animals.

SATURDAY, OCTOBER 19th At 2.15 there was a match between the Old Girls and the present Girls, and the present Girls won.

Nelson House gave a party to some of the wounded soldiers from the Infirmary. After tea they acted “Bluebeard,” and Kathleen Sargeaunt, an Old Girl, who happened to be down, sang songs between the scenes, in the choruses of which the soldiers joined.

FRIDAY, OCTOBER 25th Miss MacCormick, of the Kinnaird High School, Lahore, gave a lecture in our Hall on the position of women under Mohamedanism. All girls over 16 were allowed to go, and as Miss Douglas could not be present, Miss Bagnall took the chair.

WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 30th Mademoiselle Marchau was married to Captain Kneebone, at St. Martin’s. In order that the Mistresses might go to the wedding we had an extra long break. After the wedding the party returned and had refreshments in School House sitting-room. We give our heartiest good wishes to Captain and to Mrs. Kneebone, who has made French lessons very interesting.

The results of the Sight-Reading Competition were given out. This year it was judged by Miss Awdry, Miss Ward and Miss Mixer, and was in three grades, Advanced, Middle and Elementary. School House was top with 38.7 marks, and Hamilton came second with 32.3 marks. The rest came as follows: Fawcett, 28.3 marks; St. Margaret’s, 27.1 marks; Methuen, 26.7 marks; Nelson, 23.6 marks; Sarum, 17.6 marks. We congratulate School House.

SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 10th As we could not go to Church owing to an outbreak of influenza, Mr. Cameron came and gave us a service at School at five o’clock. He spoke of the momentous decision before Germany, the result of which would be known on the following day, and would alter the history of the whole world. If Germany accepted the terms imposed on her, a great step would be taken towards the bringing about of the kingdom of God. God had not stopped the war, because He never interferes with the free will of His people. Mr. Cameron ended by reminding us that every action of ours either hastened or hindered the advance of God’s kingdom, and he asked us to give ourselves up more wholly to the service of God and of His Church from this time forward, and to resolve that in future we would not only say our prayers, but will our prayers.

MONDAY, NOVEMBER 11th Armistice Day. (All comment on this is reserved for our next issue.)

FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 15th Lady Edward Cecil came and talked to us about her recent visit to France.

SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 17th We were allowed to go to the Thanks­giving Service at the Cathedral.

MONDAY, NOVEMBER 18th At 12 o’clock Major the Rev. R. Bartlett gave us a lecture about his work in New Guinea. We hope that he will come again and tell us more about his life there.

FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 29th Miss Douglas’ birthday. We gave her an early morning tea-set and a silver pencil. In the evening the staff gave a party in honour of the event.

FRIDAY. DECEMBER 6th The Governors’ meeting. Miss Douglas read her report as usual. Lady Hulse was in the chair, and gave away the Senior Cambridge and various music certificates. She then made a short speech about the war, and congratulated the School on our con­tribution to the work done by the nation.

SATURDAY, DECEMBER 7th Our Sale of Work. At four o’clock there was a repetition of the two plays and the Toy Symphony originally performed for Miss Douglas’ birthday by the staff. A silver collection was taken at the door.

MONDAY, DECEMBER 9th At 3.15 Miss Douglas and the School listened to a pianoforte concert given by some of the girls.

WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 11th Mark Reading 10.30 – The result of the Sale was given out as £135 17s. 3d., with, perhaps, some more to follow. Miss Douglas had been asked if £100 could be given to open a “Godolphin” bed at Lord Methuen’s Hospital, in Malta. She put this proposition before the School, and it was carried unanimously. The amount left over was given to local Red Cross funds.

Before reading the list of leaving Mistresses and girls, Miss Douglas said that this was always the sad part of Mark Reading, but that she wished the girls leaving to remember that they would often bein our thoughts. Her especial message to the leaving girls might be summed up in the word “Service.”

Miss Douglas wished us happy holidays, and asked us to be extremely quiet on the journey, and to keep up the good tradition of quietness and commonsense. She asked us to give those at home a very happy time. She compared the girls leaving us to the men going out to the front, for they were all going to fight for the right.